Barely There Page 4

  "No, mi bella, I am not half naked," he agreed as he opened the silk robe that he had been wearing when she arrived at his house.

  She gasped when he slid the robe off and stood before her in all his naked glory.

  "Nicolai!" she gasped.

  "Zio Nicolai!" a small girl's voice yelled from the beach.

  Em swung around and blushed to the roots of her hair. Running up the beach was a small brunette who was naked as a jaybird. Or so she thought until, the little girl came within a few feet of her. She was actually wearing a smaller version of the dress that Em herself was wearing and she looked as if she might be all of five years old.

  "Buon pomeriggio, Rosario," he said as he dropped down on one knee and hugged the little girl, oblivious to his nakedness. When he stood back up, he picked the little girl up effortlessly. He turned to a shocked Em.

  "Say hello, to Empress, Rosario. She is a close friend of mine," he told the girl softly.

  "Buon pomeriggio, Empress," the little girl said, her Italian accent thick.

  "Em, this is my niece. Her father and mother are visiting me from Italy. In fact we are having a family reunion this afternoon. I would love for you to stay and join us." Nicolai said softly as a woman rushed up from the beach, to claim her daughter.

  "Rosario, I told you to wait for Nicolai to bring his friend down," the woman scolded softly as she took the little girl from Nicolai. "I am so sorry, Nicolai. She got away from me," the woman said before hurrying back down the beach. Em couldn't believe her eyes. The mother too was wearing Nicolai's design.

  "So what do you say, Empress? Would you do me the honor of being my date for the reunion?" he asked huskily as he pressed her hand against his beating heart.

  "Nicolai, you can't mean to go down there like that!" Em gasped as she stared as his nude body.

  "Why?" he asked innocently.

  "Because there are children..." she said as she gestured to the people that were gathered further down the beach.

  "Em, look at me," he whispered.

  She turned and tried to keep her eyes on his.

  "Mi brav'ragazza, I want you to understand something. The human body is nothing to be ashamed off. Whether a person is short or tall, slender or fat or somewhere in between, the human body is beautiful. And mi famiglia celebrates that. This is why I purchased a home that had a private beach."

  "You are telling me that your entire family are nudists?" she squeaked.

  "Yes, back home, Em, nudism is very common, we don't hide our bodies. Today in honor of you, mi famigilia has chosen to wear my design. I am aware that not every woman or man feels comfortable walking around in the nude, hence my inspiration for my designs. Why not give to those who aren't ready for the reality of being naked, the illusion of it while still preserving their modesty? Mi famigila has chosen to do this as a gift to you but do not be shocked if later they decide to take them off," he said gently.

  Em closed her eyes at the thought of her family doing such a thing. It just boggled her mind.

  "Won't you at least stay and let me show you the difference between nudity and taking pleasure in the human body?"

  Em looked around in a daze, her mind whirling.

  "Why would they do this?" she finally asked.

  "Because I have told them that I love you, cara mia," he said as he stared out at the water.

  "You love me?" she squeaked.

  He turned back to face her.

  "Yes. I fell in love with you the first time you gave me hell for trying to use my charms on you," he said as he gently touched her hair.

  "You sure have a hell of way showing it!" she stated hotly.

  "Why are you so angry with me, Empress?" he asked.

  "I thought that you didn't want me anymore," she whispered.

  "Not want you?" he asked in disbelief.

  "You haven't seemed interested since that night in my closet."

  "Oh, cara mia, the only reason I didn't is because I wouldn't have been able to let you go if I had known the pleasure of possessing you fully. And I need to make sure that you can accept all of me. And this is what this is about," he said gesturing to his family on the beach. "So will you come with me?"

  Em looked up in his honest eyes and knew , despite her fear, she had to give this brave man a chance. He had laid everything on the line without asking for anything more than a chance from her.

  "I'll go," she agreed and tentatively held her hand out to him.

  "Grazie, mi brav'ragazza," he whispered against the palm of her hand before pressing his lips against hers.

  EPILOGUE

  Six months later

  Empress stood at her new husband's side and watched as her new nieces and nephews frolicked in the ocean waves. All of his family had returned for their wedding yesterday. She found it almost a dream ‑ a dream come true. She had finally found a man who loved her as she was and was just as passionate about her as he was his work. Growing up in a small town in Iowa, she never one day dreamed that she would ever be standing on the beach naked as the day she was born and feel comfortable about it. But with a bit of coaxing from her sister-in-law and a lot of love from her husband ‑ she had finally made it.

  "Zia Em, you're naked!" Rosario clapped with glee as she rushed up to Em and tackled her legs. Em smiled fondly at the little girl.

  "So it seems," Em said as she effortlessly picked up the little girl, "but how could I let a little girl like you, do something that I couldn't?" she teased before tickling the little girl. Rosario giggled and squirmed to be let down. Em released her with a sigh of pleasure and watched as the girl ran off to join her cousins in the warm waters.

  "Thank you, mi mogile," Nicolai said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulling her back -against his nude body.

  "No, thank you, Nicolai, for breaking me out of my shell," she replied as she relaxed in his arms...and they all lived happily ever after.

  The End

  ABOUT DAKOTA TRACE

  Dakota hails from the home state of the Hawkeyes, corn and pigs. Surrounded by children’s laughter and the corn fields, she crafts her stories. She enjoys writing romances and sci-fi/fantasy stories. She is a romantic at heart, so even the sci-fi stories have an underlying romantic plot. She started writing at the tender age of fourteen and hasn’t stopped since. Although it is a mystery to most where she finds the time to write. Aside from being a full time wife and mother, she also works the dreaded overnight shift at a clothing company.

  To find out more about Dakota visit her at http://dakotatrace.wordpress.com/.

  If you enjoyed BARELY THERE, you might also enjoy:

  THE CHOCOLATE MADE ME DO IT

  By Dakota Trace

  Annabelle is in love with the creamy chocolate confections Zephyrus Raincloud crafts in his shop, “The Delights”. While it wouldn’t take much for Annabelle to fall in love with him, she’s leery of risking her heart on a man who can’t see past the color of her skin to the warm affectionate woman she is. After one brief encounter, she swears it can’t happen again. But Zephyrus has decided she now belongs to him. How far will this chocolate maker go to seduce her into his way of thinking?

  Warning: This title contains graphic language and sex.

  Excerpt From THE CHOCOLATE MADE ME DO IT:

  “Zephyr.”

  “What?” He turned away from the door to look at her impatiently.

  “She’s locked us in.”

  “I know, but I don’t understand.”

  “Here.” She handed the dry erase board to him. She watched as he read the note. “I guess there’s one good thing.”

  “What’s that?” He looked at her warily.

  “Well, two actually. One is that I’m locked in my favorite chocolate shop which means you get to feed me all kinds of yummy things. And two, I’ll have time to finish the rest of your paperwork.”

  “Wait a minute. What do you know about doing financial or accounting paperwork?” He frowned.

  “Every
thing! Where you may be the master of chocolate, Zephyrus, I am the master of finance.”

  When he continued to look at her as if she had grown three heads, she frowned,

  “What? I’m a financial advisor, and yes, I am degreed and licensed.”

  “Okay.” He watched her turn back towards the kitchen. “Where are you going?”

  “To get my fee.”

  ‘What!” He reluctantly followed her into the kitchen. He found her at the work counter where he had just finished coating his raspberry brownies. She had one in her hand and had it halfway to her temptingly open mouth.

  “What do you think you are doing?” He watched her take a bite out of the brownie. When she moaned softly, he stilled. Was this how she always reacted to his brownies? Annabelle turned towards the shocked man standing in the doorway, swallowed her little taste of heaven first, then smiled broadly at him.

  “You make the best brownies I’ve ever tasted. As for what I’m doing, well, your sister and I made an agreement–I do your books and get the financial details in order and she feeds me your chocolates.”

  “Is this how you always react to my brownies?” His eyes turned darker as desire flared in them.

  “You mean as if I’ve died and gone to heaven? I’m sure I’m not the first to tell you that. You know that you are damn good at making chocolate delights and other yummies.” She caught her breath in response to his heated stare.

  “Well, I try.” He watched her take another bite out of the brownie; when she moaned again, he felt himself harden behind the fly of his jeans.

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